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RASC eNews

Canada has now become a full partner in the Thirty Metre Telescope (TMT). The TMT is one of the class of extremely large telescopes coming online in the near future, along with the European Extremely Large Telescope, and the Giant Magellan Telescope. These engines of discovery are designed to be highly productive scientific instruments to move our investigation of the universe to the next level.

There is lots of information on the registration site, but here is a quick overview.

Schedule:

Wednesday, July 1: Travel Day

Thursday, July 2: National Advisory Council/Board meeting; Downtown exploration via shuttle service for self-directed tours for those not at the meeting; National Advisory Council/Board Reception (evening)

Messier Marathon

As we peer up at the night sky, drinking in photons from celestial objects far, far, away, one easily takes on the relaxed position with no schedule. As the months goes by, we greet our favourite Messier object as they emerge from the dawn sky into the blackness of the night. This game is repeated throughout the year until we have recovered all 110 Messier objects. There is however a very tight window of opportunity where all Messiers can be found on a single night.

Join the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada on our adventure to Southern California to enjoy the culture and climate and visit the observatories!

We will have an opportunity to visit the California Space Museum, where the space shuttle Endeavour is exhibited. We will visit the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, from where many famous space exploration missions such as Voyager, Viking and Curiosity have been controlled. Then the piece de resistance will be to visit the two observatories in the Southern California mountains: Mount Wilson and Palomar.

Paul Delaney, long-time RASC member (Toronto Centre), has won the 2015 Qilak Award bestowed by CASCA, the Canadian society of professional astronomers. Paul has been a tireless and effective promoter of astronomy in Canada over three decades. He is presently Director of the York University Observatory (1986-), and Director of the Division of Natural Science at York (2002-).

The Hubble Space Telescope (HST) is one of the most significant and longest-lived of the currently active space probes. Beyond its rich sceince harvest, its images have captured the international public's imagination like no other space telescope. In its influence on public perception it is arguably the Apollo of our age.